


A Well-Meaning Fool

by fallenrose24



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 13:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13295892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenrose24/pseuds/fallenrose24
Summary: (Spoilers through Chapter 6) Brighid lets Mὸrag have it after she so hastily put herself in harms way against Torna.





	A Well-Meaning Fool

**Author's Note:**

> Turn back if you're still haven't finished Chapter 6.
> 
> Just a short bit about the aftermath of the fight against Jin in Tantal. I always thought Brighid would be ridiculously pissed at Mὸrag for rushing Mikhail, so here's a bit of that conversation in the snow. This is written in a different style, mainly from Mὸrag's perspective. Hopefully it works!
> 
> The length of this piece is a sign that my life becomes chaotic starting tomorrow... hopefully I'll still find time to write!

Pain. Humiliation. Fear.

Those were the feelings running through her brain as she gasped for air. The gloved hand of that aggravating Torna man tightened around her throat. She had to find a way out. She couldn’t let it end like this. Killed by a Flesh-eater, while dangling helplessly from his grasp? Unthinkable! But what could she feasibly do with her whip-swords lodged in the snow and Brighid held down by those damned artificial Blades?

Nothing.

As her vision started to black out, Pyra’s voice rang out in defiance. She couldn’t be certain what was going on, her ears blocked by the sound of her blood pressure rising in her head.

Suddenly she could breathe.

Air rushed into her starved lungs as she was flung backward. She could hear Brighid scream out her name as she collided roughly with the snow, a fit of rattling coughs plaguing her frame as she continued to greedily suck in air.

Pain radiated from her arms and chest. A sudden, sharp pain.

Damn it.

The artificial Blades she thought she had at least damaged were back, pinning her to the cold ground. She could feel her uniform begin to soak through. Perhaps an even more pathetic death awaited her. The irony of the Flamebringer dying of hypothermia was too much to bear.

A red light distracted her from her self-deprecation. Turning her head as slightly as the Blades would allow, she spotted Pyra encompassed by a deadly beam. What could the Aegis be… No! She struggled to free herself, but it was no use. She helplessly watched as Pyra threatened her own death and then turned herself over to Jin with the Omega Fetter in her hand. As the Aegis collapsed, Mὸrag felt the sting of failure take over.

“Pyra!!!”

Rex’s shattered call echoed off the snow-covered rocks.

They had lost. They had failed the Aegis and in turn, they had failed Alrest.

Mor Ardain’s Titan would die, her countrymen would plummet to the Cloud Sea’s bed… and Niall…

The restraints on her body lifted. Cuts were dragged across her skin as the artificial Blades' retracted their razor-sharp grip on her limbs and chest. She could hardly feel it. All she could feel was the suffocating weight of defeat.

“Lady Mὸrag!!”

She could hear the snow crunch under rapidly approaching feet. A blur of purple and blue came into view and a frantic, burning hand touched her frigid cheek before moving over every inch of her uniform. There were sounds to her left… Zeke, Pandoria, Tora, Poppi, Nia, Dromarch… they must also have been freed. Any attempt she was going to make to call out to them was smothered by a shout of pain.

Apparently those damn Blades had indeed left a mark.

“Brighid.” The fire Blade ignored her, unbuttoning the cuff around her right wrist and pulling up her sleeve. “Brighid!”

Mὸrag put all her strength into intercepting her Blade’s hand. Slowly, she drew the glowing fingers back to her face, soaking in the warmth they provided to her chilled frame. Brighid was unharmed. She could help them, she could help Rex… but she needed to calm down first.

“I’m alright, Brighid…” Her eyes briefly closed as she fought back the exhaustion that was setting in. “Please… help the-“

“Stop it! Don’t even think of asking me that!” Another burning hand cupped the other side of her face. “ _You_ are my Driver. You are my _only_ priority.”

The warm fingers drifted to her collar, loosening its hold around her neck. When her skin came into view, she heard Brighid gasp. There were fingerprint-shaped bruises… she was sure of it. She tried to reach up and turn Brighid’s attention away, but she was stopped by a firm grip ensnaring her shoulder cover. Suddenly, she was pulled upright, her torso colliding with her Blade and an overwhelming warmth encompassing her entire being.

“You’re a fool!” That wasn’t entirely unexpected. “A dammed, hot-headed fool! What were you thinking? Rushing a Torna Driver without me? Were you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Mὸrag sighed and wrapped both of her arms around Brighid’s back, ignoring the sting of heat burning into the cuts exposed through her tattered uniform. There were no words she could offer to placate her rightfully furious Blade, so she didn’t bother to try. An apology would be hollow. They simply sat in the snow, gripping each other in desperation.

A gently hand grazed her back. “Hey… can you walk, Mὸrag?”

Zeke.

“I think it’s best we get the Hell out of here.”

Mὸrag nodded, but a burning hand against the back of her head kept her pressed against Brighid’s warmth.

“I’ll help her.” Brighid made good on her word, tightening her grip as she began to rise to her feet while bearing most of Mὸrag’s weight. “Can you and Pandoria handle Rex?”

“Sure thing.” The Tantalese prince cast a worried gaze at the slumped Ardainian before moving away.

Mὸrag coughed. “I’m sorry, Brighid. I should be able to walk on my own if you-“

“Enough, Lady Mὸrag.” They took a few steps forward in unison. “Your ridiculous need to protect people may be what one day gets us both killed, but it’s also one of the things I love about you most. I won’t ask you to change, but after the stunt you just pulled, you owe me at least a few hours of complete compliance.”

The Flamebringer let out a pained laugh. “Fair enough.”

She felt a warmth at her temple. Brighid’s lips pressed against her still chilled skin. It was faint and fleeting, easily mistaken for a fantasy, but Mὸrag was sure she felt it. That simple gesture was enough to reassure her that her Blade was angry, but their bond would endure. While that thought was comforting, she wasn’t sure how much it would matter in the end. After all… losing the Aegis meant their time was short… Alrest’s time was short…

The burning grip around her body tightened. “We will find her, Lady Mὸrag. We will find her and complete our mission.”

Mὸrag turned to look at her Blade’s face, taking in her solemn expression of nearly enraged confidence.

“I will not let this single failure leave you defeated. We will rest, you will heal, and then we will move forward.” Brighid turned her hidden gaze to her Driver. “And you will never risk your life like that again or so help me I will set you on fire before you can bother to get yourself killed.”

The Ardainian fighter chuckled, squeezing her treasured Blade even closer to her as they walked. “Hear hear, Brighid. We go together, pride of the Empire emblazoned on our hearts.”

“Always, Lady Mὸrag.”

As they trekked after Zeke, Tora and Nia, Mὸrag turned her gaze to Rex. He was draped over the prince’s shoulder, his arms and face covered in deep cuts. She sighed as she took in his utterly defeated form and listened to his desperate cry replay over and over in her head. She would not let it end like this. No. The strongest Driver in the Empire would not go down quietly and she would be dammed if she let anyone in her company do so.

Brighid was right.

They would rest and they would heal.

And then she… no, _they_ would come up with a plan to move forward… together.


End file.
